10 Ways Twitter Can Make You A Better Writer

But did you ever stop to reflect on how Twitter can empower and inspire you to become the writer you dream? I’ve done that for you…

#1. Brevity

Twitter limits each tweet you write to a maximum of 140 characters. That’s a lesson in brevity. So the more you can tweet sense in 140 characters, the better you can express yourself without being wasteful with words.

#2. Unity of idea

Since you have few words to use, you learn to find a single compelling idea to wrap your tweet around. Not two. Nor three. Except sometimes.

That’s a great tip off for writers. Having just one main point in an article makes for better writing. In my recent blogging course for smart writers, I showed how unity of idea produces seductive pieces.

So here is Twitter, guiding you to do just that.

#3. Simplicity

Simplicity beautifies and authenticates your write ups. But we sometimes give in to fakism, using avoidable, big-sounding words.

But with the space constraint on Twitter, you learn to talk plainly. Not to impress, but just to express. If you do it frequently enough, it become a cinch.

#4. Shitty draft

But on Twitter, you’re just showing up to compose a draft that’s shitty. You know it only needs to be written, not in flawless words, but as messy and original as it pops up in your head.

And for me, many such messy drafts I’ve produced have turned out to be the finest words I’ve scribbled. Thanks to Twitter.

#5. Swift crafting

Many writers flirt with a single piece for days or weeks before they cross the bridge from start to finish. That’s so even when no research or heavy reading is involved.

On Twitter, you work with muse. The idea comes, you let it out of you head onto the screen, and tweet it to the world. If you have (or pretend to have) that mindset when you write articles, or your book, you’ll record progress fast.

And writing swiftly makes your words flow. I’ve tried it many times and it works every time.

#6. Writing before editing

Doing writing and editing simultaneously kills productivity. The masters say they should occur one at a time.

But we break that law too many times. And it slows down our writing and halts our flow of thoughts. A quick confession: I still stopped many times to edit as I wrote this piece. Too bad!

Twitter is a great place to learn doing the writing before the editing. There, you just write. Then proofread. And edit if need be before you tweet.

#7. Standing to be counted

Twitter boasts of over 555 million active users, 190 million monthly visitors, 135,000 new sign ups daily and 5,700 tweets every second. The noise is loud, even deafening.

Yet, everyone is standing up to be counted … adding his voice to the conversations.

So however many writers are, however many blogs and published books are, you can and should have yours too … to refine your thoughts and spread your ideas.

#8. Perseverance

As a writer, you want to be read, shared and adored. So when you post a piece on your blog and no one comments, or you write a book and no one buys, you feel like you should throw in the trowel.

But on Twitter, when you’ve got just 14 followers, post tens of inspiring tweets but no one retweets or replies, do you deactivate your account?

We can decide we’re creating our own online community too … each of us on his blog, doing wonders and having others giving him a pat on the back. I’ve made this call before. Let Twitter inspire us to take action.

#10. Progressing despite constraint

The 140-character restriction on Twitter is a grave constraint. But how many people have dumped it just because of that? Maybe very few. Or maybe none.

So if you appreciate that, you’ll learn to move on when ugly challenges threaten your writing dream … when some folks say writers don’t make it, or writing isn’t a profession or such other nonsense.

The final takeaway: don’t just sit on Twitter all day long. Use it to become a better writer. It’s the best thing you can do for your writing dream.

In what ways has Twitter boosted your writing career? Share your thoughts in the comments.